1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to compositions comprising at least one fluoroolefin and a stabilizer comprising at least one terpene, terpenoid or fullerene. The stabilized compositions may be useful in cooling systems as replacements for existing refrigerants with higher global warming potential.
2. Description of Related Art
New environmental regulations on working fluids have forced the refrigeration and air-conditioning industry to look for new refrigerants with low global warming potential (GWP).
Replacement working fluids are being sought that have low GWP, no toxicity, non-flammability, reasonable cost and excellent refrigeration performance.
Fluoroolefins have been proposed as working fluids alone or in mixtures. However, it has been observed that fluoroolefins can exhibit degradation when exposed to high temperatures or when contacted with other compounds (e.g., moisture, oxygen, or other compounds with which they may undergo condensation reactions. This degradation may occur when fluoroolefins are used as working fluids in heat transfer equipment (refrigeration or air-conditioning equipment, for instance) or when used in some other application. This degradation may occur by any number of different mechanisms. In one instance, the degradation may be caused by instability of the compounds at extreme temperatures. In other instances, the degradation may be caused by oxidation in the presence of air that has inadvertently leaked into the system. Whatever the cause of such degradation, because of the instability of the fluoroolefins, it may not be practical to incorporate these fluoroolefins into refrigeration or air-conditioning systems. Therefore, to take advantage of the many other attributes of fluoroolefins, means to reduce the degradation is needed.